Snake wranglers smashed a toilet to catch a deadly king cobra hiding underneath.

Footage shows the team tracking down the snake through a drain before breaking open a toilet in Ang Thong province, Thailand on April 10.

Volunteers used a sharp steel rod to tear through the bowl so they could widen the space before they searched through the hole with a hook to catch it.

The 4ft-long spitting cobra was then dragged outside the house and taken by the team to be released into the wild.

Resident Premwadee Sansenya, 63, said: ‘I was at the back of our house and heard our dog barking. It was looking at the drain so I checked it and I saw the snake.

‘I called our dog and ran away then contacted the rescue team. I knew it was a venomous cobra so I was scared for our safety.’

The snake then entered through the hole where there was a pipe leading to the toilet. It took the team almost an hour to search for the snake before they decided to smash the toilet as it would not come out despite being lured.